Friday February 19, 2010 10:07 -0700

Journals & Flying Logs

June 2008

Rick and Billie Broome opened their art studio and wildlife sanctuary to the newly formed Fountain Creek Foundation for a directors’ meeting facilitated by Mary Jo Vobejda. The Foundation is in process of raising funds for an Environmental Stewardship Center at Pueblo Springs Ranch located midway between Colorado Springs and Pueblo on the Fountain Creek. The Broome’s property was a perfect spot for the board retreat as the members were in the Broome’s wildlife sanctuary making decisions and plans to create a wildlife sanctuary and educational / recreational facility for children and families. Members of the board at the retreat included, David Struthers – president, Richard Lawrence – treasurer, Sue Cortesi and Ryan Pocius. Kevin Shanks, landscape architect was also at the meeting as was Glenn Ballantyne, professional fundraiser and life-long friend of Rick and Billie Broome.

 

January 2008

In Loving Memory of
Rachael Ann Broome
1920-2007

Rachael Ann Broome is finally reunited with the love of her life George Broome Jr. and our wonderful loved ones who have left this planet to be with God in Heaven. She died peacefully on December 2, 2007.

Rachael was the first Miss Mississippi to attend the Miss America contest. After her family moved to Colorado, Rachael continued her beauty queen role and became the first Miss Colorado State Fair! She married George in 1939 and joined the family photography business in Pueblo. Rachael is credited with many firsts in the film industry. The family firm was one of Pueblo’s top employers.

In addition Rachael invented the famous Hallmark Card Stores opening the prototype store in 1959 and owned Shewmaker’s Camera Store in Colorado Springs. Rachael also trademarked the company logo and name “Sparkletone.” She became a banker after the death of her husband.

She is survived by her son’s Richard (Billie) Broome and Dr. Jeff (Kelly) Broome and her sister Esther Lee Martin. Two sons, Corky and Robin Broome, preceded her in death. She has eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

January 2007

Lifelong Friend and Brother Glenn Ballantyne dropped by with world famous Roger Williams in Late December.  Roger and his group just HAD to stop by to see the new studio!  Roger and Rick spent most of the time discussing how they use their talents and how thankful they were. 

September 2006

Friends enjoyed coming by the studio on a regular basis to follow construction and offer advise. At this point in the process a temporary easel and painting area worked great.
 

August 23, 2006

Here are a few photos just taken of my new studio at night.  The lighting is very "ethereal" when seen in person.  Once I get the Starlite murals of the night sky painted on the ceiling above my Boeing (while I play Michael Angelo) plus complete the Starlite murals in front of and on the right side of the jet the illumination under blacklight will enhance the lighting display even better.  But that is going to take a while to complete. 

   

 

      

The above photos were taken tonight with my standard studio lighting.  There are 17 individual 20 amp circuits that supply power to the new studio.  All of the track lighting spots and floods are on dimmer switches.  Photos show the lights dimmed.  It can get very bright in the new studio!  And note how my wing tip light fixture illuminates my painting easel areas perfectly including under "Starlite" conditions.

 

Once the contractor is finished we will spend a couple days figuring what paintings to hang and where to put them.  The carpet will take a few weeks to arrive as it is a special order item.  The four ceiling fans are remotely controlled by preprogrammed devices which allows a lot of options such as setting fan speeds to automatic according to temperature programing.  They really circulate the air and yet the way I designed my painting area with the 727 wing tip lighting fixture hanging at standard landing gear height above the floor the air from the ceiling fan above where my easels will be located is blocked by the wing tip.

 

The air conditioner is a commercial unit and puts out a tremendous volume of air.  The ducts run through the floor area and this heats it in the winter while taking advantage of the cooler conditions in the summer.  It is very effective although quite loud when it is on high speed blower.  That too is programmed to variables I am in control of. 

    

Although these photos were taken in the dark I tried to show the red and blue colored spot and flood lights that are directed onto the 727 fuselage.  I call this my "theatrical" lighting and once my blacklights are installed it will be much more effective.  The red spot over the passenger loading door looks fantastic!  From inside the cabin in the dark it really works great too as seen in the photo on the right.  And once the boarding stairs are finished the lighting will be a reminder of United Air Lines famous "Red Carpet Service" that was a popular marketing tool in the 1950 and 60s.  There are four blue flood lights that illuminate the fuselage above the cabin windows.  They look great in person but are difficult to photograph.  I will probably have to go to a brighter wattage on these adjustable track lights.  Plus we can always install additional track lights and spots.

   

Also, (after the carpet is installed) I will use colored "rope lights" on the floor down both sides of the aisle seen above.  (Note the tempered glass guard railings which give some great reflections.) This will be a cool addition to the night lighting effects.  These dual blue rope lights will go past the walkway to my old studio too.  That entrance is seen on the left side of the fuselage in the left photo.  The right photo shows the view up the walkway toward the door into our kitchen.  So this section of the display will look like a miniature taxiway complete with the blue taxi lights!  Also the galley door opens to give access to the old studio or back into the jet.  There will be a wet bar eventually added in the galley where the food carts are located.

   

Just for grins I included a copy of my super rare photo which I took of the Beatles getting off the American Flyers Electra in Denver when they came to do their big concert in 1964.  I was fortunate to be at Stapleton and get this fantastic photo of the Fab Four as they climbed down the stairs to waiting limos.  They were whisked off to downtown Denver warehouse for media interviews.  I overheard where they were headed and was also able to get some additional photos there too.  Unfortunately I didn't have an extra roll of film!  The Beatles were so new to the media that they actually wore name tags.  The City of Denver gave them Western style vests to wear with their name tags sewed on.  Unbelievable! 

 

And finally to fill the space, I also included a photo of my fantastic and original Daytona Blue 1963 Chevy Corvette Sting Ray which we owned for fifteen years ...

 

Best!

 

Rick

March 14, 2006

Just one step away from the old studio is the galley area of our United Airlines Boeing 727 display.
Soon we will install a new refrigerator, ice maker, microwave oven and bar sink very similar in design to the latest Boeing Business Jet galley.
 

March 2, 2006

Here is some aviation history!

In 1955, Boeing first flew their 700 series of jet airliners with the inaugural flight of the famous Boeing Model 707. It was a four engine airliner that first entered International service with Pan Am a few years later thus beginning the jet age in 1958. American Airlines followed the domestic launch of the jet age a few days later with two nonstop flights simultaneously flying from New York City to Los Angeles with their Flight One at the same time as Flight Two took off the opposite direction from Los Angeles to New York City. Prevailing westerly winds allowed that with Flight Two arrived at it's east coast destination about fifty minutes before Flight One arrived at LAX.

Prototype Boeing 707 before it was painted in Pan Am colors

The 707's mighty jet engine nacelles hung from the wings, two per side, and were called engine pods. The next model in the 700 series was the 717 which was very similar in design. Over 650 were built to serve as the military version of the jet. The Air Force designated this version of the 707 as their Model KC-135. It went in service as the primary jet refueling and cargo airplane for the Air Force in 1957 and is still in service despite the fact that the last one was built in 1962! The very first one that was built continued to fly for the Air Force for over 40 years until it was retired in the late 1990s

The VIP version of that airplane is known as the VC-137. Two were built for the 89th Special Air Missions Wing (SAM) flying out of Andrews AFB. Of course when the president was aboard it went by the call sign of "Air Force One." President Johnson took the oath of office aboard the aircraft in Dallas while they loaded the coffin of JFK in the belly of the same aircraft on November 22, 1963. That same aircraft continued to serve the office of president until 1990 when two specially built Model 747s replaced the 727s taking over the roll as the "Flying White House." President's Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter and George H. Bush all flew aboard the same military 707 flying as Air Force One. The tail numbers were 26000 and 27000.

Following the success of the 707, Boeing has developed a complete family of commercial jetliner models, each model tailored to specific air route requirements. Today, Boeing jetliners account for nearly three-fourths of the world's commercial jet fleet.

Boeing then saw the need for an intermediate flight stage length jet and designed the Model 727 for this role. It featured a clean wing with three aft mounted engines and a tall "T" tail with the vertical stabilizer supporting the horizontal stabilizer which was mounted on top. The cockpit and nose section of the 727 is identical to the 707 with just one less set of engine instruments. It first went into airline service in 1963 and was considered the DC-3 of the jet age since it could operate into small airports thus bringing jet service to smaller towns.

This is a photo of our Boeing 727 N7266U taken when it was brand new

The largest and most advanced version of the 727 (which is what we have) was almost 160 feet long, weighed over 200,000 pounds at maximum gross weight, and could carry about 200 folks in high density seating. It is also the fasted airliner in the sky although with today's fuel prices the jet is not flown at its maximum possible speed of over 650 miles per hour. The 727 was "stretched" to achieve this massive size and the largest version (like ours) was actually longer than the huge four engine 707. The fuselage diameter of all of these airliners and the 757 are identical measuring 12 feet six inches across. This allowed six abreast seating in economy or coach. The purchase price of a 727 was nearly $70 million dollars plus the cost of the interior and paint.

The next model in the line was the Model 737 a smaller twin engine version. It is still in production even though it first went into service in 1968. Over 5,000 Model 737s have now been built with at least four new 737s rolling off the assembly line in Renton Washington per week. Boeing has advanced orders for at least 700 additional 737s which are yet to be built. The complete fuselage and nose section is constructed in Wichita and then shipped as a single unit via special railroad flatbed railcars to Washington for final assembly.

Boeing 737 twin jet. Note cockpit is the same as the 707 and 727.

The list price for a new 737 runs between $65 million for the short fuselage version to over $125 million dollars each for the stretched job that carries almost as many souls as our 727. Because it is a twin engine airliner with computer assisted flight deck there is no flight engineer on the 737. Therefore there are only two seats in the cockpit. Our 727 by comparison has a much larger cockpit and sports five seats. However, the diminutive 737 still has the same identical nose section and ten front window design as the original 707 and her bigger sister 727.

Next in the line was the 747 which as you probably know is a huge 500 passenger giant, still in production, and it will continue to be sold for many more decades. List price for a new 747 is over a quarter billion dollars not including paint or interior. It first entered airline service in 1970 at which time Boeing was then building four different airliners at the same time including the 707, 727, 737 and the jumbo jet 747.

In the early 1980s the twin-engine 757 and wide body 767 were designed, entered production, and began flying in airline service. They both featured totally electronic "glass" computer screens in the cockpits, huge engines and also are still being built.

    
Boeing 757 Boeing 767

The huge twin engine 777 was next in the series and and entered airline service in 1994. The massive turbofan engines mounted on the wings are almost as big in circumference as the entire fuselage section of the 707 thru 737 series! The "triple seven" as it is commonly called, is in fact almost as big as a 747. It flies almost as fast too (with half the engines) and also only requires a two man crew. These are primarily used on long haul flights like Denver to London.

Last year Boeing announced that they will begin production of the very highly advanced and extremely economical Boeing 787 "Dream Liner." This latest Boeing jetliner is now in the prototype construction phase and scheduled to have its first flight later this year. It is also a very large twin engine airliner capable of flying 250 folks over 9,000 miles non stop.

Boeing chose the number Seven for their airliner series designation in 1955. Of course they expected to build derivatives from their first commercial jet announced to be the Boeing 707 series. Their rival Douglas Aircraft Corporation, started building and designating their airliners with the Douglas Commercial (DC) series starting with the DC-1 in 1935. They designed the DC-1, DC-2, DC-3, and so on till the last piston engine DC-7 was built in the 1950s. It was a huge four engine piston powered airliner.

Their first jet was the DC-8 which also was a four engine airliner and looked very similar at first blush to the Boeing 707. Then came the DC-9 and DC-10 before they merged with McDonnell Aircraft Corporation and became McDonnell Douglas (MD). The DC-11 designation was changed to the MD-11 and continued in production until about 1999. Then Boeing purchased McDonnell Douglas and discontinued building the DC-9 and MD-11 airliners that competed directly with their jets.

Boeing chose the number seven for one reason. That number has always been associated with "Good Luck" so all of the Seven Series of airliners had their root in history from ancient Greek mythology. How about that? Pretty cool history ...

February 7, 2006

We got the nose gear down and locked today. It was a piece of cake actually. Over the weekend (if I get time) I plan to pressure wash the inside of the wheel well. It is in excellent shape actually but dusty from four years storage in the desert. Thankfully, the highly dangerous hydraulic fluid (Skydrol) was flushed out and replaced with mineral oil. Some of it got on the floor when we lowered the gear and bled off the hydraulic system. But we also started putting up the sheet rock today so I swept up some drywall dust and shavings to help soak up what is left of the mineral oil drips in front of the tires.

I haven't cleaned the landing gear strut or anything in this area yet. This photo shows everything exactly how she arrived. The tires are brand new and have no blemishes or sidewall cracks at all. They look perfect. The nose gear strut and most associated parts are almost brand new too with only a couple thousand hours on them since they were installed replacing timed out items in 1999.

Eventually I will change out the nose gear light to something similar looking that will operate on 12 volt DC and use a transformer to get my 110 converted so it will actually work from the cockpit switch. The gear doors will have to hold getting installed until later too as finding or getting any time to "play" with my new toy is a luxury I cannot afford right now. I am way too far behind on getting some original paintings and Starlites completed.

You can see that we are storing some things behind this area of the basement (temporarily) and in fact it is a mess everywhere around our home too. They say that major home remodeling is the second leading cause of divorce. But so far Billie hasn't given a hint of giving me the boot outa here. If she can just hang in there with me for a few more months ...

Best,

Rick

January 26, 2006

Medical Kit

January 19, 2006

Currently the final framing is being completed around our United Boeing 727-222A. You can see the stairs and bridge that lead from my new studio into our home on the left. The door in the basement (pink now) is four feet wide and leads to my research library and production studio for self-publishing my aviation art on canvas. The view on the right above is looking toward my new studio painting area. Ten feet of 727 wing tip will hang over my easel providing illumination for both regular lighting and special blacklights to create my Starlite paintings. The ceiling height next to the triangle diffused lighting window is almost 24 feet high. Large clearstory windows are above the main roof support beam which can be seen in the top right of the photos above and below.

The Captains seat fits too! The first photo above shows the massive building structure built around the aircraft. In the second photo James has digitally shown how it will look after the drywall is installed and I have been able to paint my Starlite murals on the walls and ceiling. Of course they will illuminate under blacklight in reduced room lighting giving the display an ethereal look.

I washed the aircraft last week but have not tried to polish out the paint or wax it yet. I tested a couple areas and it will shine up real nice. The thin stripes on the cheat line will need to be repainted but that will be a piece of cake. Also the stock United Airlines paint logos will also be restored to original condition. We are going to build a miniature set of airstairs that will mimic the standard boarding ramps used in the 1950s and early 1960s. They will be on easy to roll wheels and when not in use will park next to the studio stairs into our home or can be moved outside and stored next to the deck.

Installation of the electric wiring that will support all my special theatrical lighting for the display (at night in reduced lighting) is nearly completed. We have put in 14 dedicated 20 amp circuits to support all the track lighting, spot lights, and various special frequency blacklights. All of the lights will be on dimmer switches. The lights will be controlled from several different locations but the master control panel is going to be in my main studio area. A bank of 16 four foot blacklights for my studio easels will be installed in the left wing and wing tip also controlled from the same location. Also, four independently controlled ceiling fans will give excellent airflow. The environmental system is nearly completed now and has many special features including state of the art humidifier and a full time electronic air filter. It is the latest in heat exchanger technology and is rated at 90 percent efficiency. Special ducting brings the conditioned air into the fuselage cabin and all of the forward air flow systems inside the cockpit, lavatory, galley, and front cabin will be operational too.

As seen above this is how the exterior now appears before landscaping. The specially formulated stucco will be applied in color that matches our home. Final application will be delayed until weather conditions are ideal. Walls are six inches thick in most locations and over ten inches thick on the north side of the studio. Note that the rain gutters and the shingles have now been installed too. The insulation will be installed in a week or so after the framing has been inspected; building materials are still showing inside the structure. Billie has been giving prayers of thanks now that the 18 foot extra section of fuselage has been moved to the south side of our home. It will be enclosed as an operational shop and storage area.

The French doors are centered on the entry door of the 727 and measure 8 feet wide and 80 inches high for scale. The height of the front wall is over 13 feet. Also note several of the picture windows (and every other top clearstory window) can be opened for air circulation. Barely visible on the right wall is the entry door which is centered to the 727 fuselage center aisle. A yet to be built deck will give access to that entry door. The flat roof is also visible over the Boeing and on the opposite side of the roof pitch are large clearstory windows that scoop light from the west into the studio. All of the natural lighting works perfectly as designed for my artistic needs. My original sketches of this dream studio were first conceived over 30 years ago. When we started the final architectural design work with Mr. Al Feinstein in the summer of 2002 it was obvious that his talents are World Class. And our builder Mitch Christensen's work is totally First Cabin too!

Charles Lindbergh once said that he would trade just another ten year's of flying for an ordinary man's entire lifetime. I certainly repeat that mantra every day! Once I get moved into my new studio later this spring -- and get studio operations running smoothly -- I can promise that my production will be fantastic. And you will be excited to see all the new and exciting aviation art that I will be able to create here in my dream studio.

We currently have over 200 commissions and new paintings in progress for future completion. And I am backlogged several years on some of my popular Starlite original paintings. During the past 30 years I completed over 1500 new paintings and Starlites in my old 280 square foot studio. Now, with 2500 square feet of additional room, plus the wonderful lighting and space so much needed for my historical and worthy projects; there will soon be some wonderful new aviation art completed here! My new studio is a real honest dream that came true ...

God Bless!
Rick

FLYING JOURNALS

My dreams of flying airliners came true so fast I really did not have enough time to enjoy it! I was getting seat time in United Airlines simulators when I was 15 years old. Actually, my first encounter with these marvels of realism was the year before. When I was a 14 year old Civil Air Patrol Cadet, our summer encampment was held at Lowry AFB in Denver. One of the local tours included the terminal building at Stapleton International Airport. Then we "toured" the United Airlines Flight Training (DENTK) facility. The neat stuff was in their old Hangar Five. We were offered the opportunity to see the simulators up close.

In those by gone days, airports didn't have fences and a kid could ride his bike onto the flight line. I did just that with fellow Colorado Academy prep school pal, Chris Nims a year later. We took a tour of the airport and ended up checking out a brand-new Douglas DC-8 registered as N8019U. There will be a future story dedicated to this great airplane and Captain George B. Ferguson who showed us his jet. Stay tuned for "QUEEN OF THE FLEET."

Dreams do come true. I soloed on my 16^th birthday and logged hundreds of hours in a variety of different aircraft while still attending high school. I also fell in love with my childhood sweetheart, Billie. Following graduation, Billie and I were married. We loaded up our car and headed to Inglewood, California where I would attend Northrop Institute of Technology. My course major was Aircraft Maintenance Engineering. Billie and I both worked full time to pay tuition and flying costs.

My first airline job was with Continental Airlines loading fresh Wall Street Journals in the belly cargo compartments of Boeing 707's headed to Houston. Over the next several years, I worked my way up to being in-charge of the outbound bag room for Continental at the then new Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Shortly after my 21^st birthday, I qualified for my FAA Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) ratings. They complimented my flying certificate. My total time flying logs (including right seat) by this time was over a thousand hours. This was an impressive resume for a kid who still didn't shave! FLYING TIGERS immediately hired me as a mechanic and I was assigned to heavy maintenance at their LAX facility. I gained valuable experience working on a variety of airliners including the Lockheed L-1049G "Super Connie," as well as the Canadair CL-44 freighter and the Boeing 707-320 series.

After I had been certified in a number of different heavy maintenance (C & D check) line items I took my resume to United Airlines and was hired "on the spot" as a flight line mechanic. TIGER's supervisors were a little upset with my change of ships; flying the line for UAL was my goal. Less than a year later I qualified as a flight officer candidate but deferred attending Boeing 727 school until I finished my Engineering degree at Northrop. I suppose you could consider me a "favorite son" to UAL management. After all, they had known me since I was 14 years old!

George Ferguson had introduced me to Ed Mack Miller when I was 14. Ed was like a father to me. He was a Training Captain for United and arranged lots of simulator time at DENTK. He and his wife Kathy had eleven children; I was considered their twelfth. That is how I met United Captain Russ Cottle. I was 16 years old and proficiently flying the DC-6 and DC-7 simulators while still in high school!

Russ Cottle was Chief pilot for UAL in Los Angeles. One day after I had been accepted as a flight officer candidate, he invited me to his office for a "chat." He visited at length about how UNITED was forecasting a reduction in pilot new-hires once the Jumbo Jets started being delivered. United had firm orders for a bunch of jets including 40 new Boeing 737's, and advanced stretch 727-222's, new Douglas stretch DC- 8s, (Super 61's and 62s) plus a fleet of Boeing 747's and DC-10s.

Per Company policy for new-hire flight officer candidates, Russ offered me the opportunity to gain some line flying experience. He issued me a FAA approved certificate known as "Observer Member of Crew" (OMC) authority. Normally this document is endorsed for only one or two flights. My certificate was far superior and endorsed for UNLIMITED authority. He knew my fond attraction for the venerable old DC-6 from my high school flying days and recommended I take a few "hops" while the piston powered former Queen of the Fleet was still operational.

United was the last airline in America still flying the DC-6. Powered by four Pratt and Whitney R-2800 CB16-17 radial piston engines, three aircraft were in service to fly a route from San Francisco to Salt Lake City because the airports at Elko and Ely, Nevada were too small to accept jets. A week later I presented my credentials and rode jump seat in a 727 out of LAX commuting to SFO.

The crew of the DC-6 had advance knowledge of my trip and we met in Company Dispatch the following morning. Hal Bryan was the skipper and Rick "Fuzzy" Lewis had the right seat. Over the next 18 months, I logged 216 hours in this wonderful airliner. We would depart SFO for Oakland where we boarded more passengers. We got the wheels up and then set up for immediate approach to OAK; this was a short trip. Normally we had a full airplane for the next leg of the trip to Reno.

Crossing the Sierra Madre Mountain Range was a neat deal; on the eastern slopes, we set up steep descents into Reno. This could produce an unpleasant ride for the passengers who paid the price of their ticket. I have movies taken on one descent where you cannot even read the gauges! There was a very strong up-sloap wind from the east that required a number of 360-degree turns to overcome reported 100-knot head winds. We dropped the main gear (which acted like a speed brake) brought in half flaps and METO power while drilling holes in the sky. And we still blocked in on schedule. This was a very strong airplane.

From Reno, the trip flew to Elko, Nevada. This was a short uncontrolled field with a runway to short and narrow to accept jets. Hence, the DC-6 was the airplane for this and the next leg of the trip. I noticed many businessmen got off at Elko. Later I would learn that these men were invited guests of a local (and then legal) brothel!

Out of Elko we flew across the Superstition Mountains toward our next destination, Ely, Nevada. This flight took us directly across what is now known as the Famous Area 51. I have lots of film shot in this area in color print, black and white plus movies. And, yes, we did see some fast moving aircraft, strange lights and possible UFO's every time we flew this leg of the trip. It was routine; you didn't make a report! What a wonderful secret this was; I took lots of photos and movies. We also flew over the Kinnecott Copper mines on numerous occasions.

The trip turned in Salt Lake City. One of our Captains was not a big fan of prostitution, legal or otherwise. He often canceled (engine problems) the return trip home. Of course, we rode non-stop first class in a DC-8 back to San Francisco. Of course, the return trip was canceled, thus stranding a number of "businessmen" who had purchased round-trip same day trips to do research in Elko.

In late 1969, United negotiated a wet lease agreement with Frontier Airlines for the route. Convair 580 turbo-props were to replace the old DC-6B's. Known as Trip number 857 outbound and 837 returning to SFO we flew the final scheduled four engine piston engine flight in America on February 28, 1970.

I rode jump seat and took rolls of film and movies. We had a full airplane out of Reno to SFO; most were retired United Airlines extended retirement family. When we tucked the wheels in the wells out of Reno, a Cessna 310 joined us in formation for a while as the sun set. We arrived home after dark and crossed Oakland Hills just like John Wayne did in the 1955 movie, THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY. Ol' Rick (age 23 at the time) started whistling the tune made famous in the movie. I could just imagine Captain Dan Roman (the Duke) fighting the old DC-4 in the film made famous from our hero Ernie Gann's saga.

The skipper said I made a good call and the crew joined in tune with the cockpit door open and the PA system on. Seated in the Captain's chair is Bob Newcombe and the first officer was Fuzzy Lewis.

I flew numerous other trips in the cockpit of all of United's fleet with my OMC authority. This double exposure photo was taken in flight aboard UAL DC-8-61 N8099U (fleet number 2599) in June 1969. It was delivered to UAL on June 16, 1969, and had logged less than 100 hours TT when I flew it on a revenue trip to SEATAC. This was the last stretch eight built for United. I am the guy flying the jet on the left side of the double exposure as shown. These are the things of which I recall in capturing the Spirit of Flight in my fine art paintings.

I will never forget the flight from LAX up to Seattle. I spent three days in the area. The voyage was to meet my childhood hero Captain George B. Ferguson. He was the pilot I met on the DC-8 at Stapleton when I was 14 years old. In retrospect, the flight up there was really the start of my art career. Using my OMC authority, I rode jump seat in a brand new DC-8-61. I had made friends with the Captain when working his jet as an A&P for UAL, LAXMM. I took a couple of my new watercolors on the trip. These paintings were my earliest professional serial numbers. (As I recall the DC-6B was serial number 01 and a DC-8 over Seattle I painted as a gift for George was number 02.)

Shortly after takeoff from LAX we established the course heading for SEA. The skipper had logged a ton of hours in both the DC-6 and DC-7 before qualifying for his rating in the DC-8. He knew my weekends off were spent flying the line in the old DC-6. Right after takeoff, he offered me the right seat! His copilot obliged and I took the chair; I must confess my knees were a little shaky. Later during the flight, I took out my recently completed watercolors and both the Captain and his copilot commissioned new originals. These were my very first commissions as an adult fine artist.

My memory is clear about this flight into the future. We were climbing out over the Hollywood area when I fastened in. I recall looking down at the valley as we climbed through 15,000 feet or so. About then was when he gave me the wheel. The thrust levers were guarded from his left seat but the jet was all mine. I like to fly with the seat all the way forward so he took over while I made adjustments. The DC-8 was burning off fuel at an amazing rate so I used the "suit case" handle elevator trim rather than the control wheel toggle. The Collins FD-108 flight director was a piece of cake to follow as I hand flew the stretch-eight to cruise altitude.

Once we arrived at our assigned flight level, the autopilot was punched in and I took a break from steering the wheel of this giant ship of the airways. I can still remember how stiff and sore I was. Not from the effort of flying the jet but from the tension of knowing I was really flying a commercial airliner on a revenue flight! When we were approaching Crater Lake, a PA announcement was made indicating that we were going to do some gentle turns over the site to provide a fantastic view for the souls on board.

I was instructed to make gentle and smooth turns first to the right so I could see the same view and then to the left so I would know what wing bank was best. I did exactly that and will never forget that flight; and I have photos and movies of that trip, too.

Stay tuned for my story "QUEEN OF THE FLEET" about a very special DC-8. Another story will follow about a test flight in a lightweight DC-8-Super 62 plus the exciting tale of flying jump seat aboard Len Morgan's Boeing 747 rating flight. Indeed, there will be many more photos and memories of both working the flight line and flying the line with UNITED AIRLINES…

RICK BROOME BOEING 727 STUDIO
DECEMBER 16, 2005

We have known our architect Al Feinstein for almost thirty-five years. He is one of our dearest friends, very well known, highly respected, and somewhat "famous" in this area. He is also one of the funniest guys Billie and I have ever known! I call him my Brother. He and I have talked about building my new studio for at least thirty years. All of this has evolved from a reoccurring dream I started having in the early 1970s. To describe the dream is easy. For Al to design what I "saw" (over and over again) was a real challenge!

In my very vivid and visual dream what would always happen is that when people came to visit me they entered my creative work area through a United Boeing 727 airliner. It was like the United jet was parked inside the studio. Then visitors would walk down a set of boarding stairs into my very large studio; the size was overwhelming. And I would also dream about seeing the studio from the outside too. In that part I was always looking up at it because it was sitting on a small hill. That part of the dream was frustrating. Although I could get right to the bottom of the hill, I was never able to climb it to get to my studio!

Finally about five years ago I got up that hill in the dream! The feeling I had in the dream was very spiritual. It was like Heaven to me! But it was so overwhelming that all I could do was stand there and look at the studio with the airliner parked inside. That part of the dream was always at night time. I remember the ethereal lighting of the dream very well as I type today's journal right now. Our latest construction photos will be posted on our website at www.rickbroome.com over the weekend.

View from the 727 entry door into my new studio. Note the hill on the other side of the big fork lift!

Finally, I took my ideas (and years of different sketches I had made after having the reoccurring dream) to Al in the summer of 2002. He designed at least ten different buildings before we started getting close to what I had "seen" in my dreams which kept occurring. And I kept adding things to his designs as I would remember them from the dreams. We narrowed things down going through at least another five iterations with the final approval of his design accepted before Christmas over a year ago.

Several months were invested in making final decisions and visiting with different contractors. We were very fortunate to select Mitch Christiansen as our General Contractor. We developed a relationship with him that became better with each meeting. The final plans were submitted to him for an estimate in about January 2005. After that phase (and approval of his initial estimate) the plans were then submitted to a very reputable local structural engineering firm. They took several months to complete their end of the bargain and were totally thorough in considering every angle. The final plans were submitted to COS City Regional Building Authority for approval and issuance of the required building permit. As I recall they were approved without a single change; our architectural design and engineering was that good!

We had been searching for a suitable Boeing 727 for over two years. (In the original design we were going to use a Fiberglas full size replica of just the nose section of a United Boeing 727 in 1960s livery. We finally located a former TWA three-holer and it appeared this was going to be the jet for the studio. It should be noted that my search for a United 727 was unsuccessful. Unfortunately, six months after we picked the former TWA 727-231 (N64323) and had a contract on it some unknown issues caused that the owner to avoid signing our purchase agreement for the entire airframe less engines. He is a huge Hillary Clinton fan, friend, and supporter who owns five 727s and is donating one to Hillary for her presidential run. I wondered if maybe he found out I created a painting for President Bush?

We were very fortunate to purchase the former United 727-222A that is now sitting in my studio. This jet had always been my first choice. Above photo by the late Frank Schaefer shows our 727 (N7266U) in her delivery colors at DEN. The entire interior and exterior including the nose gear with two brand new Michelins are in unbelievably great shape. I am only missing a few items. This is an honest to God real dream come true! My airline career was working as an A&P for United at LAX from 1968 to 1971. The rest of that story as they say is history.

Ground was broken the day after the building permit was issued. We had a special ground breaking ceremony that started on the clock at 2:22 in the afternoon and was completed at 2:27. We shot film and digital video. The date was 7-27. This is amazing and totally coincidental. I have been told that the word coincidence means God's way of subtly being visible. Well, the dreams I have had are real. We are building my new aviation art studio to match His plan; as revealed in those amazing dreams ...

Blue Skies and Merry Christmas,
Rick

December 8, 2005
Courtesy of avweb.com Business Newswire

Earlier, we hinted at an exception to our theme that this year's NBAA extravaganza was an evolutionary one. Enter long-time industry veteran Linden Blue. Blue, you may know, was in Beechcraft's left seat in 1983 when the aforementioned Starship was born. He also served as general manager at Learjet and was CEO of Learfan. While much has changed among the three Starship players -- Rutan now is very focused on space while Beech is now deeply immersed in the Raytheon empire and all but a handful of the 53 Starships ever made have been grounded -- Blue's heart clearly is still in business aviation. This year, he and his son Austin brought to Orlando news of their latest innovation: a soon-to-be-flying full-scale prototype of an extremely lightweight, all-composite Williams FJ33-powered jet called the Spectrum 33. Like the Starship, Blue and his team at Spectrum Aeronautical developed their jet completely under the radar, this time at a facility in the Utah desert. Seemingly well-financed and obviously determined to bring their project to certification, they have built production tooling and used it to assemble the first example of the '33. What's more, they strongly believe they have solved the bugaboo of just about every all-composite airplane since (and including) the Starship: weight. At NBAA, AVweb sat down with Linden and Austin for an exclusive interview.

According to Blue (and a lot of others), the reason most production all-composite aircraft failed to realize their twin promise of strength and light weight is that manufacturers tried to assemble the advanced materials using methods dating from the Great Depression. "Composites can be seductive," Blue told us. "The devil is in the details; putting them together is the problem." He calls this the "black aluminum" approach: trying to assemble carbon-fiber composites, for example, using methods designed for the too-familiar metal. In fact, the Starship program failed when it was transferred from Rutan's hands to Beech's Wichita facility. Beech "lost control of costs and weight," according to Blue, dooming the Starship to its eventual fate. Instead, Blue says he has spent the last 20 years working on what he calls the "technology of manufacturing" all-composite aircraft to overcome these "traditional assembly" methods. Proof of their theories, Blue and his team maintain, can be found in the Spectrum 33's numbers: Their empty airplane weighs roughly half the empty weight of a Cessna Citation CJ2. One of the keys is the composite material itself, which is dubbed "FibeX." The other key is something called "grid stiffening," which the company says "describes a structural configuration that employs stiffeners or ribs in a pattern which distributes loads widely throughout a given structure." Spectrum says this type of manufacturing is the main difference between its method and the honeycomb core stiffening common in almost all other aircraft composite construction.

...To Fly By The End Of 2005?

The thing that was so exciting about the Starship was not just its all-composite construction. Instead, the whole deal was radical departure: a canard, twin pusher turboprops, tipsails instead of a conventional vertical stabilizer. By contrast, the Spectrum 33 is not at all radical from a distance. It more resembles an unnatural pairing of a baby Learjet with a straight-wing-and-wingletted Citation than a Starship. And that relative simplicity is one reason Blue says he "will be upset if it doesn't fly by the end of 2005." What Spectrum believes it has achieved is "the right combination of proprietary processes and designs to build significantly better and more economical advanced composites aircraft." Allied with Rocky Mountain Composites, Spectrum says it has developed new techniques -- "disruptive technologies" -- enabling lighter and more fuel-efficient airplanes out of advanced composites. Blue and his crew have offered up some exciting numbers for the eight-passenger jet.

Designed to serve the personal transportation, air-taxi, fractional, charter and special use aircraft markets, the Spectrum 33 -- it's named after the Williams engines powering it -- is slated to have a projected selling price of $3.65 million (2005 dollars), be flown by a single pilot and seat up to nine passengers. It will feature a high-speed cruise of 415 KTAS, a useful load of 3,865 lbs. and a payload of 2,000 lbs. With a projected maximum gross takeoff weight of 7,300 lbs, the airplane is slated to weigh only 3,435 lbs empty. By contrast, a Cessna Citation CJ2+ has a typical empty weight more than the Spectrum's gross: 7,695 lbs; its MGTOW is 12,500 lbs. Of course, all of the Spectrum's numbers are very preliminary. The company says it expects FAA certification in the 2007/2008 timeframe. And, no, you can't buy one right now -- Spectrum says it is not accepting orders or deposits. Which is probably a good thing, since a lot has to happen before the company meets its goals, not least of which is that first flight. Will it happen? Blue's been around the block a time or two, and his team seems well-financed, confident and very determined. That they have designed and built a prototype in total secrecy is a plus. But, it's not 1983 any more. And that could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending.

November 17, 2005

This photo was shot at sunset on November 16, 2005. Note sunset reflecting in
the upper story bedroom window. The floor area was cleaned and leveled in
preparation for the concrete arrival. Four huge concrete trucks were required
to supply all the mud which arrived just after sunrise and took a crew of 7 hard
working concrete guys most of the day to pour and smooth out to level.

The concrete pad was poured earlier and it was great to see the area around the bird finally cleaned up. Framing will start next week. We are really excited!. I am doing about ten or twenty walk around inspections on the Boeing everyday now. Somehow this whole make a dream come true project has turned into a magic carpet ride / time machine for me. I know it is only part of a 727 but for me (when I am checking it out) this Boeing is surreal and very much alive. I seem to be blocking everything out except the airplane and my memories.

The photo below doesn't show that we have the exact perfect measurement for the wheels to be on the ground. We will crank them down after the concrete floor has reached tensile strength and then put the gear doors in place. Right now they are held in place by the worm gear drive gear cranking system. A massive chain is double wrapped for backup. We got a pair of brand new $2500.00 Michelin radials on the nose wheels that have one landing on them. They will clean up to show room condition.

They are perfect and show no weather checking or any discrepancies what so ever. When the jet was in storage they were rotated once a month and kept covered too so they are in first cabin air show condition. I will need to do a little cleaning here and there as the dust and sand from Mojave got on the grease fittings; it is just a little dirty. The gear was brand new in 1998 and should look great once it is cleaned up.

Not sure how we will handle the stairs going into the cabin. For building code they have to be permanent COS City Code government standard grade. Once the final building inspection has been signed off then we will come in and install the plumbing into the lav and galley as well as the cold water drinking fountain. You can see the white PVC pipe stubbed in below just aft of the PAX loading door. Also, if we can figure a way to devise a set of rolling stairs then James and I will build them. I think it would be cool to be able to roll them to the jet and away for different display conditions.

Got the new concrete poured this morning and it is setting up just fine. And it looks great!
In fact it looks like a big ice skating rink right now since it is still wet and glossy. Or there are those who might envision a nice basketball court going in; tennis nuts would visualize a great court. But for me this is the United Airlines hangar I worked out of at LAX. We are on a good roll now. Additional building materials and structural wood has been ordered for delivery on Monday. Then the carpenters will be rounded up and put together with their nails and hammers ...

Rick Broome
November 17, 2005

November 7, 2005

 HAPPY ANNIVERSARY LEN!

November 7, 2005 was the 35th anniversary of the late Braniff Airways Captain Len Morgan getting checked out in the 747. Len passed away in his sleep earlier this year. He and I met when I was a teenager and over the next forty years he was like a father and a brother to me. I flew jump seat on our United Airlines Boeing 747 registered N4713U when Len flew his check ride and almost every year I would send him an anniversary card or note.  And I probably called Len at least 20 out of the past 35 years. I never needed an excuse to call and it was always fun to talk to Len on November seventh; as the years moved on. Some years he didn't want a reminder. It was truly a gift from God -- and a wonderful blessing -- that I got to ride jump seat on that flight. And of course I will never forget it.

I sure miss you pal. I am certain that your Spirit is truly enjoying all the construction going on around this place. I have almost completed my inventory of parts and cleaning of the interior of my Boeing. I am finding a lot of interesting stuff in all kinds of hidden places. And everyday I go out and pretend I am getting the jet ready for flight just like I did when I turned wrenches for United over 35 years ago.

I know you are here from time to time Len. I can feel it in my heart. As a matter of fact, when I checked the cockpit switches in my 727 last night, before shutting down the lights, I noticed that the "No Smoking" switch had been turned off. That is very interesting. Because I had moved it to the on position when I played pilot earlier yesterday and went to work ...

Every now and then a man comes along that stands out above all the rest. He doesn't shine because he asks for it or seeks the attention. In fact, it is quite the contrary. He stands out because he exudes goodness and decency.

Len Morgan was one of those individuals that embodied integrity and honesty. He taught by example, not by lecture, and his devotion to aviation was unrivaled.

After graduating from high school he enlisted for pilot training in the Royal Canadian Air Force and arrived in England a week after the Pearl Harbor attack. He transferred to the United States Army Air Forces in Egypt and flew Air Transport Command routes in Africa and the Middle East. Upon returning to the States in 1943, he was an instructor at Reno Army Air Base. Following the war he served with the 123rd Fighter Group, Kentucky Air National Guard.

In 1949 he began a 33-year career with Braniff International Airways at Dallas, Texas, during which time he flew domestic and international routes as well as on military charters to the Far East during the Vietnam War. He retired on the B747, his favorite airplane.

Morgan wrote hundreds of articles on aviation topics, authored and/or published more than 30 books, and was a contributing editor of FLYING magazine for 20 years.

His fellow pilots, friends and readers considered Len Morgan a tremendous credit to aviation. Numerous pilots contribute their decision to enter the aviation world to him and the hundreds of letters following his death spoke volumes about this kind and gentle man.

Len Morgan was not only my hero, he was my father.

Len Morgan

1922 - 2005

 

October 31, 2005

We are building a fantastic 2500 square foot aviation art studio and gallery for me. Plans for this dream studio were actually sketched almost thirty years ago. The former United Airlines Boeing 727 sits on a special elevated mounting platform at the back of my new painting studio. It will be a working display.

My jet is almost brand new inside. It served its entire career with United and had a major “D Check” overhaul in 1998. This gave the venerable airliner a new lease on life and she could have soldiered on for at least another twenty years. At that time The United Airlines Heavy Maintenance facility in San Francisco completely stripped out the airliner and rebuilt almost every piece of the jet. It even got a brand new interior which was only about three years old when United was forced to store the airliner as a result of the terrorist attacks on America on 9-11.

My jet flew its retirement flight in December of 2001. Even all of the passenger windows are brand new. Not a scratch on them. There is really no wear inside the cabin either. I can report that the highest of standards in aircraft maintenance that I experienced as a flight line mechanic for United from 1968-1971 were still working when our jet was overhauled.

I plan to make the Boeing into a working display. However, rather than install First Class passenger seats back inside the cabin my son James and I are following the design of the Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) for the interior design. This will give us a fantastic area to enjoy relaxing or watching the plasma television rather than having five dull looking rows of static and nonfunctional First Class airline seating.

Photo shows interior of a Boeing Business Jet. (Not Actual interior of Our B727)

Our plan is to make the interior of the airliner a great place to entertain. I have always been good at creating "mood lighting" and plan a theatrical approach to the illumination of the interior. The overhead luggage bins are almost brand new. They will stay along with their respective light fixtures and other standard features.

Inside the cockpit everything is almost totally complete including the flight engineer’s panel. I will need to get a few instruments and perhaps a fake radar screen. All 5 cockpit seats are positioned just like they were after its retirement flight. Even though they are used the cost was $2500.00 per chair. At some time in the future I plan to get all the cockpit lighting to work. For the short term, however, I am going to change out the 28 volt 400 cycle fluorescent fixtures with good old 110 volt stuff to keep the cost down and provide some interior illumination. The power transformer to convert 110 volt, 60 cycle household power to 28 volt 400 cycle aircraft power has a list price of $3800.00 plus installation.

James sitting in the Captains seat

The lavatory will be fully functional. Again it is easy to change out the light fixtures in the lavatory to household power. And the galley will be converted to a more standard type like you see on the Boeing Business Jet. James and I have looked at a lot of photos of recent BBJs and there are some great examples to follow in converting the galley. Of course it will have a bigger refrigerator freezer combo, a microwave, coffee maker and a bar type sink installed plus some nice cabinets. I plan to keep as much of the stock United furnishings as possible since they are in such great shape.

The entire nose section of the 727 was left uncut from just behind the passenger loading door. Once the new basement concrete floor has been poured and finished we will lower the nose wheels and they will sit on the floor. The tires look brand new. As the airplane sits right now the nose gear is held up off the basement floor with some stout steel chains. The structural support is designed to accept the entire weight and load of the fuselage so the nose gear is not required to take any of the loads. I am on the lookout for a set of authentic wheel chalks.

Outside the seven starboard cabin windows there is about two feet of space to the inside wall of the studio. I plan to paint two different Starlite murals to be hung outside the windows. One will be an in-flight night scene with clouds and landscape featuring thousands of twinkling lights coming from miniature communities as seen from 37,000 feet under a full moon at night. The other scene will be an authentic view of the ramp at an airport. Off in the distance I plan to paint the old hangar facilities at LAX just like they appeared when I was a flight line mechanic for United Airlines.

There is a fellow who lives outside Seattle who has invented an integrated program that works in cooperation with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. He has worked out all of the design parameters to allow the cockpit to be a fully functional flight simulator. Working in conjunction with the Boeing 727 add on software program he hooks up servo’s to all of the flight controls, trim, thrust levers and other applied switches such that the cockpit can be certificated as a Class A flight training simulator device.

At some time in the future I will commission him to come and turn our 727 into just such a beast. The system even uses a projection television device so that you can actually have a complete visual scene outside the cockpit windows. In the short term, however, I will get a new CPU and put it on the floor at the observer’s station in the cockpit and place the keyboard and a flat screen monitor on the small observers table on the port aft side of the cockpit. This will allow me to actually get the true and authentic sounds of the 727 routed through an amplifier with a number of speakers placed against the bottom of the floor of the cockpit and cabin. When in operation we should be able to have surround sound audio effects in operation at all times reflecting all flight regimes from ground idle to high altitude cruise.

Of course now that you have read all about my plans for my new 727 it should be obvious that this former airliner is now a big toy for me to play inside. And also it will be a great display. But most of all during the days and nights when I am at work in my studio as an aviation artist I can gaze at the Boeing and have fond memories of all the wonderful people whom have made it possible for my dreams to come true …

Rick Broome
November 3, 2005
STUDIO 727

2004 2005 Archived Journals

December 15-26, 2004